Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot"

Paper Summary:

This paper talks about Samuel Beckett's play "Waiting for Godot" written in the 1950s. It has been performed world wide and has been critiqued and deconstructed many times, and many different interpretations offered as to its meaning. The author of this paper concludes with his own interpretation of what Beckett might have intended from this play - that is the he might simply have wanted people to sit still and reflect about what exactly is so significant in their lives.

From the Paper:

"In order to understand the comic relief of Beckett the philosophical view of Schopenhauer must be defined. Schopenhauer believed that the "will" is the inner part of man that drives the world forward--"will" supersede intellect placing desire before thought and "will" prior to being (Ross, 1998).
"In the 21st Century Beckett's Godot still has a place in theater including cyber-theater. Interactive art is all about the spontaneous and unpredictable occurrences between people coming together online and performing as if they were on a stage in front of an audience full of hecklers. The interaction between the performers and the audience is far more entertaining then the play by Beckett "Waiting for Godot" when it is performed open to anyone logged into the chat room at the Digital Storytelling Festival in Crested Butte, CO (Rosenberg, n.d.)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Beckett, S. (1984). Collected Shorter Plays. New York: Grove Press.
• Bloom, H. (Ed.). (2003). Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot. New York: Chelsea House Publishers.
• Brater, E. (2003). The Globalization of Beckett's Godot. Comparative Drama. 37, http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5002066552
• Rosenberg, Scott.(n.d.). Clicking for Godot. Salon.com. Retrieved May 18, 2007, from http://archive.salon.com/21st/feature/1997/10/02godot.html
• Ross, K. (1998). Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860). Retrieved May 18, 2007, from, http://www.friesian.com/arthur.htm

More papers on Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot":

• Book Review # 117102 : "Absurd Theater and Existentialism in "Waiting for Godot"
• Book Review # 115215 : "Companionship in "Waiting for Godot"
• Analytical Essay # 67561 : "Beckett's "Waiting for Godot"

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